Justice KT Thomas refuses to head Lokpal Search Committee

March 4, 2014 11:10 am

Agencies, New Delhi Shortly after jurist Fali S Nariman refusing to be part of Search Committee for choosing the Lokpal, Justice K T Thomas today wrote to Prime Minister expressing his inability to head the panel. In his letter sent to Prime Minister’s Office, Justice Thomas, a retired Supreme Court judge declined to be part of the Committee as the role of the Search Committee was to make a list of aspirants prepared by the government and send it to the Selection Committee. This Selection panel could accept or could make their own list. Such being the case, the Selection Committee can do this work by themselves, Mr Thomas said stating that he was reluctant to head the search committee. Justice Thomas told a news channel in Kerala that he had no ‘ideological differences’ on the issue. Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi dismissed the Justice Thomas’ objections as ‘personal view’ and said that the Government could not alter the processes prescribed by the law. The Search Committee is not a creation of the Government but a requirement of the law passed by the Parliament. A statutory body can’t be dismantled because of the individual objections, he maintained. In a related development, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said that UPA Government stood totally exposed with Justice Thomas refusing to head the Search Committee days after jurist Mr Nariman distanced himself from the panel.